We know life gets busy. Coming into the end of the year we often push things back and quite often we tell ourselves “I’ll do that in the New Year”
Well here we are the new year is upon us. Be sure you stick to your New Years Goals. Whether it be lifestyle or financial.
Nectar Home Loans | Hunter can help you with your financial goals, whether you are wanting to improve your cash flow, get your finances in order, buy your first home or investment, relocate , downsize, upsize or finally start those renovations you keep putting off.
Here are 5 Tips to help set your financial goals:
ONE: Figure out what matters to you. Prioritise them. Have two lists, short term & long term.
TWO: Apply SMART goal strategies. This makes sure that your goals are SPECIFIC, MEASUREABLE, ACHIEVEABLE, RELEVENT, TIMELY = SMART!!
THREE: Create a realistic budget, you need to know what’s coming in and exactly what’s going out so you know how much leeway you have for your budget.
FOUR: Direct Debit the additional funds out to a separate account so that there is no accidental overspending, or impulse buying. This can be allocated to the first items on your priorities list.
FIVE: Monitor your progress.
Where to start? What are some financial goals? Here are some examples to consider:
- Pay off Credit Card Debt. This should head the list for ANYONE serious about improving their financial situation. Credit cards often suck you in with interest free periods and yield HIGH interest rates.
- Save for Children’s University Fees. Its no secret that the employment rate after completing University is much higher, being over 93% according to the ABS. Setting our children up for the best future without the financial pressures involved is just as important as the studying itself.
- Save for a home loan deposit. For most people this is the biggest investment of their life. The bigger the deposit the more freedom and flexibility can be provided for your loan. If you have a 20% deposit you no longer are required to pay an additional Mortgage Insurance on top of your loan. It’s hard enough for first home buyers to enter the property market, usually with young persons with great incomes it is the lack of deposit that is holding them back form their property dreams. Setting yourself up to get that deposit early on is important so that you are ready when you want to get into the property market.
- Save for a holiday/renovation/emergency fund – Having a buffer should you fall sick, or decide to go on an overseas holiday or start some home improvements need MONEY. Having an emergency fund there is perfect for this. We suggest setting a goal to have at least 3 month standard as a minimum, however 6 months (or more) is even better. Especially if it’s a fragile job market, a buffer fund is essential.
- Live within your means – This one is Simple. If you are spending more than you earn, there is debt. Let’s cut out the unnecessary spending and get your finances back on track. When there is more income, than expenditure then there is Savings!
- Improve your credit rating – In order to get that home loan or any other transaction that requires a loan at those competitive interest rates its imperative to have a good credit score so that you qualify. This can mean doing different things for different people to improve their credit score. Eg, Getting rid of unnecessary debt, or just doing simple tasks like paying your utility bills on time.
- Save for retirement – With the retirement age getting pushed back every time we seem to be getting closer, it is good not only for our lifestyle, also our mental health to know that we have ourselves set up (or getting set up) for retirement.
Financial goals are much easier to achieve when you have the right advice. We can give you advice and help you achieve these goals, first you have to make the first big step and contact us. We can assist you in finding the right option for your needs. If you need extra assistance to get yourself on track we can put you in touch with the Hunters highly skilled and recommended experienced Financial Planners.
Give us a call at Nectar Home Loans | Hunter at any time on (02) 4040 0910